It’s fitting, we suppose, that with the retirement of one NFL quarterback whom we think might be using his religious views as a not-so-subtle way to put himself above the rest of us comes the arrival of another NFL quarterback who is even more over the top with the notion that he was in some way “chosen” — and thus is in every way “better.”

Before I go any farther here, I need to set the record straight. My position on people who are too obvious regarding their beliefs is not anti-Christian. I am a Christian. I go to church every Sunday. I have 12 years of Catholic education. And I personally believe that the likelihood that this planet of ours was created and populated with plants and animals by accident is even slimmer than the chances of dropping a bowl full of eggs, flour, and sugar and having it land as a five-tiered wedding cake.

But I’m naturally skeptical, by virtue of 12 years of Catholic education and many more of regular church attendance, of anyone who wears these beliefs on his or her sleeve.

Or, as the case may be, on the black strips under his eyes.

I was going to leave it all alone until Tebow broke out the word blessing multiple times during a short interview on NFL Network, including a response to his critics that sounded like a machine gun that fires not bullets but “blessings.”

We get it, Tim. You’re blessed. More so than the rest of us. If we get to Heaven, we can watch you play quarterback against the All-Hell defense.

Earlier today, I dropped a link to Matthew 6:5-8 when discussing Tebow. Here’s the text of it, for those of you who are interested: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

I don’t think that verse ever appeared on Tebow’s eye strips.

Meanwhile, Tebow offered during the NFLN interview a strident defense of Florida coach Urban Meyer, claiming that players who come from the Gator program “know football,” and that Meyer and his staff teach schemes and concepts that apply to the next level. “When our guys go to the next level,” Tebow said, “they know what they’re talking about.”

Of course, the issue isn’t Tebow’s ability to read or understand an NFL playbook. It’s his ability to properly throw the ball. And though Tebow tried to downplay the change to his throwing motion by saying that he’s not really changing his throwing motion, if it wasn’t such a huge problem he would have been doing everything they wanted him to do at the Scouting Combine, instead of merely talking about what a blessing it will be to do everything that they want him to do at his Pro Day workout next month.

By pointing these things out, I don’t “hate” Tebow. He was a great college football player, arguably one of the best ever. But I’m skeptical because his behavior falls into the category of Matthew 6:5-8 that I’ve been taught to avoid, and because I wonder whether his purpose isn’t to spread the Good News but to cultivate and maintain an image that will serve separate interests.

The easy thing to do in this case would be to parrot the universal praise for Tebow. The harder task is to look past the facade, and to question whether this guy is as good as advertised — or whether he’s too good to be true.

UPDATE: Here’s the video. And here’s the key quote. “Well, I have been truly blessed. And the past four years have been a blessing to me. My whole career has been a blessing. I’ve truly been blessed. . . . So I just look at all the criticism . . . as another blessing.”

Good post. You articulated very well a lot of peoples misgivings for Tebow. He’s overtly religious, and many people believe, he’s that way in an attempt to hide his flaws and boost his football stock.
If that happens to be true, than Mr. Tebow is nothing more than another snake-oil salesmen.

“Before I go any farther here, I need to set the record straight. My position on people who are too obvious regarding their beliefs is not anti-Christian. ”
Um, no. Constantly criticizing people who express their religious beliefs is bigotry. Your supposed status as a christian doesn’t mean jack. Lets stop the bullshit Floor-Boy that Tebow is the ONLY person you’ve ever treated this way. Do a search of your own site for “Tony Dungy”.

Florio, this may be my favorite piece of writing you’ve ever done. And NO, I do not want to read Quarterback of the Future just to be sure.
I have had a hard time articulating what bugs me so much about Tebow’s preachy demeanor, but you put it perfectly here…

Hey Mike why don’t you do some actual reporting opposed to quoting scripture and your own views of Tebow. When I clicked on this I thought you might actual tell us what he said, instead of ranting about how you think he’s fake. There’s nothing wrong with believing in God and not hiding your faith. If cameras weren’t around him 24/7 and constantly asking him questions he wouldn’t come off the way you portray him. But you’re right, I’d much rather he be a tat’d up thug who can barely speak English and goes around get arrested. That’s much better than believing in God and helping the less fortunate. By the way can you post that quote where he said how his faith makes him better than all of us? Thanks, can’t wait to read it.

As someone who believe the chances are greater that Earth was created by evolution, rather than the “swirling flame” that Moses must have seen after “OD”ing on opium, I respect everyone’s beliefs.
But when someone thing’s they are “blessed” I wonder what they think about Haiti? Are they unblessed?
If Buffalo thinks about taking this fraud, I’ll become a WNBA watcher.

I knew you were dumb. “It was either God (as defined by you) or it was an accident.” Good logic, Caveman. No wonder you sucked as a lawyer.
Religion is the opiate of the masses. It keeps the poor from murdering the rich. And most importantly it provides a way for you and Tebow to deny the fact that you will eventually take an eternal dirt nap, just like every other living creature.

Thanks for clarifying, Mike. After the last anti-Tebow post, I initially had lost a lot of respect for you because it sounded like Christian-bashing. After this post, I have a lot more respect for you than before.
Now to just break you of your Culpepper obsession 🙂

It’s always the same thing, he bounces around the question of throwing the ball and puts the focus on his football smarts and God.
And did anyone Charles Davis on NFLN “hey no one question Byron Leftwich coming out of the draft and he went #7” Well maybe if someone did question him they wouldnt have wasted a top 10 pick on him.

facade… dont know about that? perhaps he cant just lead by example. not everyone can.
now, flawrio, the way you ramble on negatively about religious people yet always spout liberal views then hide behind 12 years of catholic school reminds me of the old saying that the devil can quote scripture.

You’re taking the verses out of context. Jesus is specifically talking about prayer (he mentions it also in conjunction with giving). It’s between you and God. No one else needs to know how often you pray or give. That is not to say that prayer can’t be done in public, but it has to do with the intent of the heart. The people that Jesus is talking about in Matthew pray to be seen. They don’t pray to make a connection with God.
However, Tim is doing what every Christian is called to do. Wearing your faith on your sleeve as you put it should be what we do. There should be no doubt in people’s minds where we stand. And, I think, there is no doubt where Tim stands. Jesus says in Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And lo, I will be with you to the end of the age.” Peter tells the Sanhedrin in Acts 4, “How can we not speak of the things that we have seen and heard?” I have seen God work. How can I be silent?
Tell me, how is Tim to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28) if he never says anything?
And why is he more blessed than everyone else because he calls himself blessed? I would bet that if you asked him, his most important “blessings” have nothing to do with the abilities that God has given him or the large check that he’ll be able to cash sometime in April or May.
He will have things that I will never have, but I would never say that He is more blessed than I am. God has chosen to bless Him differently, but not more. God has a purpose for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11) and with that comes different gifts and abilities.

Normally I try to stay away from the religious issue with people. My beliefs aside, I could care less what anyone believes. I truly feel that ones “beliefs” are private, and should be kept there. I dont want to discriminate against anyone because of what they believe regardless of what it is.
I am however, very skeptical of those that wear it on their sleeve, much for the reasons mentioned in this article. My experience has lead me to believe that it is/can be a mask. In this case, I think Florio hit it on the head. Tebows arm should be overlooked cause he’s a great person…? He’s a good christian so we should sign him in the first round, & give him alot of money…?? hahahahahaha oh, the irony.
Great commentary Florio. Religion is a tough subject to approach with respect. I think you did.

a great take florio…this whole being blessed babble that tebow & kurt warner spout is way too overplayed, it really is more prudent to keep your beliefs close to the vest & not on your sleeve, or in the case of tebow, eye strips…

Until Tim Tebow gives me a reason to doubt the authenticity of his faith I have no reason to doubt him. I’m usually a skeptic about these kinds of things, but the guy truly believes what he is saying. A friend of mine went to Dallas Theological Seminary with Tebow’s sister and said that the whole family is authentic when it comes to their faith. I’m not attempting to be a Tebow apologist, I just think the guy is sincere when he talks about being blessed and wanting to be a good example through his faith.

I am glad you posted the Matthew verse Florio and for once I completely agree with you. I cannot argue with the stellar record that Tebow had at Florida, the achievements were really something. What I do take issue with his his religious grandstanding. Hooray Jesus but get that crap off of your face, it has no place in the game. I cannot wait for you to bust your way out of the league so you can do your super Christian deeds away from the disgusting fawning of the national media.
If guys like Tebow would just chill out a little bit about religion then I would laugh a lot less when they get caught in compromising situations.
For once Florio you got it completely right start to finish…now get your goddamn shine box!

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19, 20).
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
“I tell you the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).
“He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” (John 16:14).
i could go on and on…… there is ALOT of scripture in the bible that implores people of faith to spread the word of God our father and his son Jesus Christ. the fact that you florio, choose one verse to put down a man whom you seem to write hatred and comdemnation of at every chance you get (he said the word “blessing” too many times for your taste???), shows who the true hypocrite is. i am however, absolutely sure that tim tebow forgives you as well as prays for your soul.
.

Mike, I appreciate your point of view 99% of the time. This topic is the 1% of the time I can’t agree with you. Here are a few reasons.
1. I know this might seem like a totally different topic but would you have this point of view about Tebow if he were black?
2. The posting of the verses in the earlier stories was done with with almost a mocking tone on your part.
3. Is there a reason you have to discuss this? Can you just stick to football, where your talent is, and lay off religion & politics?

I don’t think you’ll have much luck dropping scripture to criticize un-Christlike conduct. The American evangelical churches just re-interpret the Bible as they see fit to justify their drive to get more cash (and pay as few taxes on it as possible).
American Evangelical churches are a business, not unlike most religions at one time or another. At least the ‘flock’ is getting paid this time.
But to be fair – Tebow was doing this at Florida, where he was winning games, awards, and titles. So I disagree that this is some ploy to cover up a lack of talent.
And his beliefs will not help boost his stock. Broadcasting them does not help him accomplish the “big money” goals of an athlete (mass-orineted product endorsement) or semi-athlete (role on College Gameday on ESPN).
So I suspect his motivation is genuine desire to express himself and something he feels strongly about. If it’s real, it’s fine by me.

Your recontextualization of Matthew 6:5-8 to fit Tim Tebow is errant. Mr. Tebow is not abusing his faith as a means to manipulate the community. He is a young man passionate about his belief. So what if he is overt about his love for Christ. It seems to me it is a much better example than those football players who make the police reports.
I do not think any of us should be casting stones at Mr. Tebow.
John 8:7
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Perhaps his release & delivery would shorten up if he wasn’t carrying all that religion on his sleeve.
I am not religious. I thought the drama over the Focus on the Family commercial was stupid. I am as liberal as you will find and I thought the commercial was very tasteful and considerate. If both sides of that issue would handle it as such in the future, I think it would cease to be such a dividing ground in our country. Having said that, Tebow should take a note from the commercial. I realize that faith is very important in many peoples lives. Just as I realize that, I wish people with such strong beliefs in faith would realize that discussing their faith in public and making comments like Tebow always does during interviews turns people who don’t share those beliefs off. I don’t want to dislike someone like Tebow. But it’s hard not to when if that person continuously tries to publicize what is and should remain a personal issue.

I may never understand this mindset you and others have for having beef with Tebow. First off I am an atheist. So you whole debate of the likelihood of humans and life existing without god I won’t get into that because that is a whole other thing.
As an atheist I am secular but I believe in the free excercise of religion as an extremely important right. Now looking at your scripture quote it doesn’t appear that Tim Tebow is doing any of that because he wasn’t prayer. You could argue he was giving thanks for being blessed. I think you main beef is the whole idea of being blessed and being the chosen to succeed (to be blessed) and failure (to not be blessed). You shouldn’t blame Tebow for a religion that follows this idealogy when you follow this very same religion.
I could also point out several scripture quotes that point out to proselytize. And what better way to proselytize when someone shows they follow a religion an succeed. If you really believe in Christianity then why wouldn’t you proselytize? Is there not something more admirable than to want to save someone from eternal damnation?

Mr Florio –
Tim Tebow irritates you because you feel that his overtly religious language some how demeans you as a Catholic? Would you be any more accepting of Tebow if he instead wore a certain collar that designated him as a holy man when he was in public? How about if he wore an ash mark on his forehead on certain days? The verse that you presented refers to people who are praying, not to those who are answering questions for the media. Most people of faith have some way of publicly demonstrating their beliefs and it’s more than just a little intolerant for others to denigrate them for doing so. A little tolerance goes a long ways, Mike.

It seems very presumptuous to think Tebow has a hidden agenda. As a matter of fact you break the 8th commandment by not putting the best construction on his words and actions. Your exegesis of Matthew 6 misses the point, first the Pharisees, the lay religious leaders of Jesus day, prayed publicly to appear righteous even though as Jesus states their hearts were far from Him (God). The Pharisees were sanctimonious and were not concerned about the well being of their neighbor, but on self-righteousness.
While it is correct to judge sinful behavior after confessing one’s own sinfulness, my perception is that you are attacking Tebow because he publicly professes the Christian faith as true and real as commanded by Christ (Matthew 10:32). This scares some people because they think no one should hold anything to be true. They content this leads to radicalism, yet they hold your their views to be true. This is sophistry and dishonest. Your argument is that everyone should live according to their own whims, but no one should tell others how to live. Incidentally, you are telling Tebow how he should live. Self-absurd and refuting indeed.
Moreover, perhaps you should read the entire Bible instead of the verses that fits your flawed argument. I think if you asked Tebow if he was a sinner he would concur and that he needs a Savior.
Jesus says that unless you repent, you too will perish (Luke 13:3). If we confess our sins God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins ( 1 John 1:9). For Christ’s sake.

Gaiterdan, some people are overtly religious for sincere reasons. Plenty have ulterior or misguided motives, most of these for reasons much simpler than football. If people think Tebow is different than advertised, fine (most people are, to one degree or another), but it’s a bit silly to imagine that he decided at a young age that wearing Bible verses under his eyes and talking about God on television would enhance his bank account more than working on his throwing motion.

your dead on mikey…..this guys sees big bucks pandering to his nutty southern born again followers. i wonder if he would mention being blessed as much if it had nothing to do with the huge amount of cash he will make in what ever capacity that turns out to be making his living. real estate, preacher, product pitchman….etc. it ain`t gonna be professional qb. mark it down.

I guess I can understand where you’re coming from when you express hesitation over your perception of the authenticity of Tebow’s faith. However, as a person who believes the same way as Tebow, with as much passion and drive behind my personal faith as I see in his, I don’t have the same hesitations. Basically, what I see, is a person who is just living out his faith, and expressing it to others. I might not have a national stage on which to do so, but really, what’s the difference between him writing Bible verse references on his eye black, and me posting references on my cubical wall, with post-its. Tebow has never once shoved his faith down anyones throat, or forced someone to go look up the verses that he wears. He leaves it entirely up to the other person to decide what they will do with what he has done. Isn’t that what freedom of speech is all about? And quite frankly, if your measure of whether or not you are a Christian is solely based on whether or not you attend church on Sundays, and happen to have a catholic education (by the way, that was your parents choice, not yours), then I have more doubts about the authenticity of your faith, than I do of Tebow’s.

Go Irish88…Spot on. I couldn’t have said it better.
By the way, as Christians, we are to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Tim Tebow does it this way. Good for him. Just for the record…GO NOLES!!

This is the classic ‘freedom from religion’ argument vs free speech.
Being ‘proud’ of ones religion does not equal ‘I’m better’. Stating what one is proud of is as American as apple pie.
Mike you are a secularist and want to enforce, through the power of the pen, what people can & cannot say religiously.
If you are a Christian….then stand up for Christianity. Otherwise go after Jewish or Muslim expressions of religion.
As it so often is with leftists, only Christianity needs to be censured.

Keep Jesus, Buddha, Allah, Zeus, Ra, Jah, and my personal choice The Flying Spaghetti Monster out of football.
there must be a separation of church and gridiron.
Wouldn’t it be great if people stopped thanking “god” for giving them the “blessing” of being able to destroy another person in a game whose only defining character is to entertain millions while making hundreds filthy rich.

Exodus 21:20: “If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, 21 but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property. “

With some players, you wonder how sincere they are when they talk about how blessed they are and how great God is. Tebow seems too far over the top to be insincere, so I doubt it’s accurate to say he’s cultivating an image. I think he truly and sincerely has that distinct sort of religious fervor that leads people to beat others over the head with their religion. Put another way, he probably uses the word ‘blessed’ that often no matter who he’s talking to.
As the great Charles Barkley once said to an opposing player who was similarly public and effusive in his praise, “If God is so good, how come he didn’t give you a jump shot?”

Wow, Mike. If your opening reference was to Kurt Warner, you should be ashamed of yourself.
Warner is one of the few “athlete Christians” who actually lived it. Bent over backwards to treat others (including reporters) with respect and kindness. And beyond mentioning his beliefs, he never beat anyone over the head with it.
You need to lose the jaded shades, pal.

I believe this to be one of your best and most thought provoking post ever. While I totally agree with you that there are many people who come across as more Godly than anyone, Tebow seems like a great kid who not only talks the talk, but walks and walk. It is not his fault that everyone is putting a microphone in his face to broadcast what he believes. Would you have the same problem if instead of his faith, he was always talking about a charity like autisim or curring cancer because it was close to his heart because it had affected a loved one? If that was the case, I don’t think you and alot of the people who take shots at him would be upset, so you should really ask yourself, why is a kid who is genuinly living a good, clean life, is polite, courteous, and dedicated a good amount of his free time to helping the less fortunate bother you so much? He is human, and has already made mistakes and will make them in the future, and I am sure some will get publicity and then everyone can have a field day tearing him down (sadly that is how our society is), but until then, give the kid a break. I hope he ends up with my Dolphins because I think he can run the Wildcat better than anyone we have, and can also be coached to play alot of variations on that formation such as TE, fullback and WR which would create a ton of problems for the defense (and I am a HUGE CANE fan so talking good about a Gator is not something I enjoy).

Florio, the catholic church accepts evolution.
Also, I can kill your christian god right here.
The christian god is by definition all knowing, all powerful, and all god.
Given that, he created lucifer knowing full well that he would become the most evil force in the universe. The christian god therefore intentionally created lucifer specifically to be the most evil force in the universe. Therefore, the christian god cannot be all good.
Unless it didn’t know that lucifer would be the most evil force in the universe. But then it is not all knowing, either way, I just killed your pretend god.
Thanks for playing, and keep wasting your time in church talking to your self and your homophobic psychopathic homicidal pretend “all good” god.
Leviticus 20:13
“If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”

Florio,
True Christianty is faith in Christ and in the word of God. Religion is MAN trying to MAKE UP ways to get to God. You claim you are a Christian due to your years of Catholic education. If you believe that through any rites or rituals of Catholicism that you will find your way to Heaven, you might as well start praying to Harry Potter. The Bible says that religion is of Satan. The apocrypha is not the word of God (Even the early Catholic church stated this). If you are relying on your Catholic ‘education’ to save you, then it’s time for you to go back to school. Start by learning the meaning of Matthew 28:18-20 and Luke 23: 42-43.
If the truth will set you free, then believing in the lies you have learned will imprison you – forever. End your ignorance.

1. I know this might seem like a totally different topic but would you have this point of view about Tebow if he were black?
but Tebow isnt black, “race baiter”.
He’s the greatest college QB and he knows HE ISNT GOING in the first round and is doing damage control and publicity tours. How the f$%k was he going to appear on NFL Network twice and he’s not even be the first player chosen .
You caught his act at the Senior Bowl….you saw his obvious flaws, right? Now I know Florio over does it on this Tebow commentary, but no player ever coming out has got as much scrutiny as this guy. THE MEDIA WANTS HIM TO SUCCEED. He’s a good guy and all…but his wake up call is coming.

Just cut to the chase. In-your-face religious people are annoying. The more polite you are about saying it, the more annoying they get in your face. F ’em. I can be annoying too, if they want to play that game.

My question that won’t be answered for a few years, is how great will his confidence be when he gets continually smacked down at the NFL level? When they’re yelling at him, swearing at him, and he’s not improving fast enough…will he still feel ‘blessed’? Or will his motivation die off and he becomes the opposite of what he is now.
If Tebow’s career takes a huge dump…I could see Elvis 2.0 as his future. Really, can’t you just see the headlines and the pictures of a fat, drunken, despondent Tebow crying into his beer bottle?
Or maybe he’ll be just fine and he’ll become a great QB and bug the hell out of everyone…who knows, we’ll just have to wait and see…but yes, it is definately annoying to hear him constantly talk like that.

Whether you share Tebow’s beliefs or not does not give you or anyone the right or privilege to criticize him for them, as long as he isn’t using his belief to harm anyone.
It’s funny how Florio loves to blast anyone who merely states his passion for his God while he has no problem defending these money-grubbing football players who are making millions and still complaining that it isn’t enough while hard working families are losing their homes, their savings and their childrens futures.
Way to fight the good fight, Florio.

Great post Florio. Few points of clarification though – Christians like Tebow do not consider Catholics to be Christians. You and I are inferior in their eyes – only born-agains are reedemed. THe far right espouses this view quite a bit. In their mind, Catholics are not true belivers and are going to hell. This is where the Christians percieved self-moral superiority comes into play – they consider themselves better than the rest of us, and spread the word to all the non-believers. Of course if we don’t share their views we are ‘liberals” ‘anti-christian’ and ‘bigots.’ You just can’t win with these people. They are better than you, while everything good in their lives happens as part of God’s plan and is a blessing. Nothing ever happens becuase You make it happen, God is responsible for EVERYTHING. Like if I go kick my dog right now.

Brilliant post Mike. Simply brilliant.
The tebow family doesn’t need to espouse their faith, with the charity work they do they clearly live their faith. But for some reason they do.
Best if luck to Tebow, but far better college qb’s have failed to make the transition to the pros, and calling out Timmy is fair game.

Football is a sport played by young men who are persons free to express their beliefs. That’s the “blessing” (see the Preamble) of living in this country. Don’t take that away from Tim Tebow or our forefathers who established this country with religious rights. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
The Constitution of the United States of America. 1998.
Tebows’ faith is merely a public display of a personal belief. He fully expects to be villified because of his public expression of his personal beliefs by some posts here and Mike Florio, others, etc. for as long as he plays and beyond.
He is an unfinished product who will play in front of an NFL fan base; made up mostly of “men” twice his age, who criticize 20 something year olds. Our sons are maturing with courage in front of men who would rather point out whats wrong with the next generation than applaud the “Tim Tebow’s” in this country who stand for whats good and right and admirable.

so you don’t hate him but you feel it’s your life mission to find fault with him because he wears his religion on his sleeve. even though he has done nothing to suggest he is nothing more than he claims to you are sure he is phony.so what happened to your crusade to prove that peyton is a fake?aside from mooning somebody in college what have you come up with on him? face it maybe the guy is just a nice guy who wants to live by his religion. you don’t have to agree with him but it does not mean you have to try and tear him down just because he might not be a nfl qb. I don’t go to church but still like the kid and hope he makes it.

All of you people attacking Florio are wrong.
Don’t you realize Florio has provided all of you with a great BLESSING.
Now you are BLESSED with ability to share your religious thoughts.
Can’t you see what a BLESSING he provided you?
Of course not. Because obviously not everything is a blessing. And when someone tells you everything is a blessing it is their disingenuous way of avoiding dealing with the reality that not everything results in a positive outcome.
Moreover, when someone is asked how they feel about not being able to throw at the combine, and instead respond by saying they just feel blessed to be able to throw at their Pro Day they are using religion to avoid having to answer the question. Surely that isn’t exactly proper.
And further, if someone believes everything is a blessing, then why do they feel the need to point things out as blessings? Is it because the reality that not everything is a blessing is so painfully obvious that the only way to maintain the false belief is to constantly reinforce their own misguided notion that everything works out for a reason and thus MUST be a blessing? Maybe.
Maybe those people who disagree would point out that people have to reinforce their beliefs by constantly reminding themselves because humans are infallible and emotions must be controlled, and that when looked at in the proper perspective all things do turn out to be blessings.
And well to that I say tell me the blessing of child sex slavery? What is the blessing there? Child soldiers?
And then I ask whether it’s a blessing to pedophiles that children aren’t constantly watched after?

The easy thing to do in this case would be to parrot the universal praise for Tebow.
There is no universal praise going on. Everyone and their brother have been endlessly tearing him down. Day in and day out.
As a man of faith I’d think you’d pray for the young man as he deals with this universal criticism rather then predictably adding to it.

Hold on, we don’t have to invoke scripture to successfully make the point that Tebow is obnoxious. The wost part is that he gets as much fawning press over his personal religious habits as for his play.
I wonder if the commenters on this site would laud him for expressing himself if they disagreed with his views. What if he was muslim, or had ‘legalize gay’ written in his eye black?
Look, there’s no reason to want players to be robots who are expected to keep their mouths shut off the field. Quite the contrary, having characters in the league makes the game more entertaining and I’ll have plenty of fun in the years to come rooting against Tebow. But to be so self-obsessed as to feel the need to broadcast your views by writing them on your damn face? I just don’t understand how people lap it up so eagerly.

Not for nothing, I hope the Raiders draft Tebow.. I’d love to see hell freeze over. Florio, your welcome to your opinions, and I mostly like them…. but the way you push WV and hate on the SEC cracks me up. Almost as funny as that description of how WV’s Pacman Jones got his nickname on that ESPN Thursday night game so many years ago. I’ll take UF/Meyer/Tebow over Chris Henry, Pacman Jones and Rich Rod all day long..just saying. Save the sermons for the real preachermen! Still peeved about that beatdown SOS layed on the Couchburnereers in the Sugar Bowl so many years ago? Go Gators!

Why is it that we are constantly told and forced to be tolerant of gay folks, muslim , other religions or any other alternative view on things, but any time Christianity comes to the forefront then people should keep their mouth shut about it?
The tools who seek tolerance are not tolerant at all. With all the thugs and criminals the NFL has why do you spend so much time riding Tim Tebow for how he carries himself?

@Rzon
My guess is, you’re Catholic. But why would you assume that “Christians like Tebow do not consider Catholics to be Christians.” I don’t believe that he has ever said something like that. And, if you are choosing to draw the Protestant-Catholic line and lump all Protestants in with some that you know who percieve Catholics not to be Christians, you are flawed.
I think that, whether Catholic or Protestant, there are tendancies to become legalistic and, therefore, miss the message of the Cross. Legalism gets us nowhere.
We’re not in Ireland here, so let’s not divide ourselves into two sects that condemns the other as non-Christian.
Jesus is the only Son of God. He lived a perfect life. Died on a cross for our sins. Rose again 3 days later.
Believe that and live like you believe it = Christianity.

George Carlin gave us the ultimate treatise on this subject quite some time ago:
“What can we do to silence these Christian athletes who thank Jesus whenever they win and never mention his name when they lose? Not a word. You never hear ‘Jesus made me drop the ball’ or ‘the good Lord tripped me up behind the line of scrimmage.’ According to them, Jesus is undefeated; meanwhile, these aholes are in last place. Must be another of those ‘miracles’.”
There ya go. Nothing else needs to be said on this subject. 🙂

I like the post Mike.
I’m not sure if Tebow is of the prosperity Gospel more so than the true Word.
I try to look at men who’ve proven over the years they are indeed Christians.
I’m aware of personality differences…
Also…that some in the faith…might be predominantly Calvinist vs. Arminian.
That said, many have claimed to be a Christian.
And there’s always the subtle issue of when we look at a “Christian”…as many associate “Christian” with “Perfection”…versus “Holy” or the process known as Sanctification…
The former, perfection, can NEVER be attained, the holiness process, sanctification, is part of a regenerate heart…and that’s where you can tell a true Christian…
They would serve God…and others…even if not paid.
I think of examples in the NFL of TRUE Christians and names that come to mind:
Darrell Green…who even when his dad died..and he played just a day later…some asked…”did you play the game for your dad today?”
He teared up..and said…”No, I lived for my Father”…
a life of dedication…of humbleness. His work ethic and body of work is amazing.
The other types of Christians might be the Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, even Terrell Owens types…
There’s a sincerity of the types of Tom Landry, Joe Gibbs, and Tony Dungy.
Mark Brunell is another.
I could laundry list a few on both sides of the coin…concering probably authenticity of the regenerate heart…
One thing with Christ, is He’s the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Heb 13:8)…and that the SAME Spirit, how one conducts themselves, if led by that same Spirit, will manifest themselves in another.
The Spirit that leads Tebow…is different than the one that leads Dungy…
Maybe it’s very immature at this point..and maybe 70% Tebow in Charge…and 30% Christ…
Anyway…here’s a little article on Tony Dungy…I took out the main part…concerning one Reggie Wayne…again…it’s worth your time to read. I sourced the article afterwards.
Kind regards
—————–
Then a vision of Tony Dungy flashed through his mind. There was the gentlemanly Colts coach, not warning Wayne that he’d be suspended, not lecturing him about how this could cost the team the championship, but simply looking at him. Wayne lowered his hand, got security to retrieve the hat and in a magnanimous and perhaps even Christian-like gesture, talked them into letting her stay and continue to party.
“It’s not, ‘I’ll get in trouble,’ ” Wayne told Yahoo! Sports’ Michael Silver a few years ago. “I see his face in my head, and I think, ‘I don’t want to disappoint him.’ ”http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Agb1rRI2cbV7370MAJoO5yg5nYcB?slug=jc-greatdungy011209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Wow Florio… A thought-out, well-written article that delves beyond simple/irrelevant facts to point out something that actually matters to people who care about the sport. And it took analysis instead of repetition. I’m proud.

The fact of the matter you totally miss Florio is there is a big difference in religion that’s practiced in a non-denominational church who call themselves Christians. They don’t believe they are holier than though but at the same love to use scripture in their every day life.
I’ve lived both. I didn’t grow up Catholic or with any real structured environment until 7th grade when I was part of a semi-cult Christian church. Many of these Christians tend to believe it’s their life to spread the word of the God in all walks of life.
I converted to Catholic and see how most members of the Catholic church tend to be subdued compared to non-denominational Christians. There’s no speaking in tongue, no preaching bus stops, and handing out scripture at airports in the Catholic church like you’d see from someone who’d attend Tebow’s church.
Tebow is who is he because of his parents. It’s not that he believes he’s holier than though it’s just that’s how they speak. There are many black players who wear their religion on their sleeve and nothing is said. Napolean Kaufman was a key religious leader on the Raiders team for several years before he left to become a preacher.

Why is it that we are constantly told and forced to be tolerant of gay folks, muslim , other religions or any other alternative view on things, but any time Christianity comes to the forefront then people should keep their mouth shut about it?
I think because christian bashing is in vogue now, and they can safely do it without their herd brethren turning on them.
It’s basically cowardice.

I love this website accept when you talk about a players religious beliefs. Maybe you should just realize other people have a different (and theologically correct) understanding of how to live out their Christianity. Matthew 6 seems to be the only versus you ever know. Maybe you should pay more attention to the verses about judging others.

As a loyal fan of this site for 5+ years, this is the one post that is making me leave. Your anti-evolutionary theory proves you are too f*cking stoopid for me to follow any longer.
Should have stuck to football, Mikey.

Here we go. I guess now that Florio calling–implying–that Tony Dungy was a hypocrite is over, and now that another target, Kurt Warner, is gone, he needs another guy to bully up on from behind his keyboard. Florio, you’re really a jackass.

Florio, if you put a pot full of dirt out on your porch, you’ll notice that eventually something grows in it. That’s just the way life works. Just cause you don’t understand it doesn’t mean you should jump to supernatural conclusions. I don’t know how any rational person can actually believe that after you die, your ghost rises to the sky and lives in paradise with all the other people who’ve died….but only if you obey a strict set of rules that lead you like sheep to exactly where your “god” wants you to go. If you don’t see the lies of man all over your Christianity, you’re not looking objectively.
Where I live, there is no sky paradise, there are no 72 virgins, and magic does NOT exist….no matter how pleasant the thought is.

Preach Preacher!
Seriously, kudos to Florio for this post…as the grandson of two ministers, I’ve spent more of my life around church and religion than most. I can usually smell a fraud a mile away when it comes to those who claim to be “of God” and feel a need to bring it up in just about every conversation they have. A true Christian lets people know of their faith by their actions and the way they live their lives, not by the words from their mouths. So when you get guys like Tebow and Kurt Warner wearing their religion on their sleeve and trying to insert it into places and times where it’s not necessary or warranted, it sends up a red flag. I think most people are aware that Reggie White was religious as was Darrell Green and Mike Singletary. Yet I haven’t heard them beat people over the head with their beliefs. There’s a happy medium for that sort of thing, and if a guy like Tebow or Warner doesn’t recognize that by going overboard with the religious talk, they’re alienating more people than they’re “winning for Christ”.

“Earlier today, I dropped a link to Matthew 6:5-8 when discussing Tebow.”
You shouldn’t quote scripture that you don’t understand. The passage is not saying to only pray in private. It’s saying that you shouldn’t do it ONLY for show.
“But I’m skeptical because his behavior falls into the category of Matthew 6:5-8 that I’ve been taught to avoid”
You should have kept reading if you’re looking for guidance as to behavior that you should avoid.
“1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” – Matthew 7:1-6

The reason Tebow’s behavior is jarring to you is because he stands for something, which few people have the courage these days to do. I don’t blame people for being cynical and skeptical, but he understands the position he’s putting himself in and still chooses to stand up. Even if you don’t agree with his views, I would still think that should be respected. Time will tell whether he really stands for these things or is just talking. I think he will be a positive figure when all is said and done.

Name me a really decent quarterback that came out of Florida into the NFL! If not this year then next defenses will figure out the wildcat and it will be a thing of the past. And that is about all I think Tebow could run. And when he does run it who do you think will carry the ball every time? He might make a decent running back or H-back, but I really don’t think he is an NFL quarterback. Guess we’ll just have to see if someone wants to waste a high pick on him and watch him be another qb bust.

“They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.” Mark 10:20
If Jesus Himself was and still is mocked, I totally expect His children to be mocked; therefore, I expect posts like this… Florio, you took scripture out of context, and you completely misquoted tebow. God bless you buddy, Jesus loves you too.

OK so now several hours later I have actually watched the interview. I urge others to do the same. Tebow made no religious references and used “bless” the same way most people do when reflecting on their own good fortune. He may have meant “blessed by God” but I can’t tell from the interview and neither can anyone else. So this has to be based on bias and intent to defame since the author has to insert facts not in evidence in order to make his errant point. Too bad the result was so much discord between people about religion. This was a completely manufactured story. A shame that the author has so little regard for his trade to think this is worthy. I really don’t care about his opinions on religion, politics, sex, baseball, basketball, car racing, evolution, global warming, catholic schools, …. Now up until this article I had actually looked forward to reading his reporting on football rumors. From now on I will always wonder if he is reporting the rumors or making them up. That sucks for his audience.

Faith is a very personal thing- if Tebow thinks it right and proper, even necessary, perhaps, to repeatedly use the word “blessing” then who are we to question? Florio, you are Catholic. Evidently Tebow is a evangelistic Protestant. I do not think it right for a Catholic to judge the obviously different standards held by Tebow. The only question we should ask is; is there any actual evidence of conceit. besides your stereotyping of his wordy “type”, that suggests he is? I say no. I, too, say I am blessed by God and what I mean is to express a belief that I am so much more with Jesus than without. As such, I am humbly acknowledging that I am a much lesser man without Jesus. From what I can tell, Tebow is saying the same thing about being “blessed” with athletic ability, and it not being something he earned on his own. Rather, he credits God for giving him that ability. I see no reason anyone should see conceit in such a humble belief, instead, it is quite the opposite. You doth protesteth too much, my man- orre you, perhaps, a bit convicted by a man who, you are afraid, is much more talented athletically, than you are intellectually, and yet is more humble about it? Maybe just a little? Be honest, brother man!

@griff65, if you think Florio was doing any mocking in the piece above you would be well served to look up the definition of the word.
And then you should probably consider not comparing the treatment Tebow is receiving to the treatment Jesus received. Just a thought to chew on, bud.

Forio, I read your posts eveyday and didn’t have a clue you considered yourself a Christian because you are always making snide remarks about them. I think you will know Christians by their love and you certainly never show that!
You become a Christian by repentance and accepting Jesus into your live as ruler of your life. Going to church and church school doesn’t make you one no matter if it is Catholic or Protestant!

1 Timothy 4:13 – Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Mark 16:15 – And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
Acts 1:8 – But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Luke 12:8 – “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God,
Matthew 5:16 – In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 2:23-26 – Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
Psalm 50:20 – You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.
Go Timmy!

Florio your bias is really starting to show.
Lest we forget what Christ said:
Luke 6:41
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
John 8:7
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

The problem with Mr. Florio’s point of view is that basically he is saying that one should not express his or her religious beliefs, unless of course, they are in agreement with his own. Mr. Florio puts forward his own religious beliefs, in a public blog, but somehow that is different than Tebow? Double standard if you ask me…

Dear Mike,
Your Catholic education and going to church on Sunday doesn’t make you a Christian (John 3:3). Tim Tebow is a man who proclaims the gospel which is what Christians are supposed to do and not fear persecution from “the world”. No matter what happens to Tim Tebow in the NFL doesn’t matter to him as much as you make it out to be. He has a gift as we all do and he is choosing to share in whatever walk God chooses for him. I suppose Reggie White’s the NFL weren’t good enough to play in the NFL either. Tebow has never said he is more righteous than any of us. You can go on and bash him all you want that’s your profession. Tebow will go on and continue to praise God for whatever God chooses for him and I applaud him for his courage.

After reading all these posts all you people who believe in evolution are the intellectually challenged ones. Florio made a rather colorful and effective analogy as to why he does not believe in evolution, something I hope he is still entitled to do in this democracy. Typically, Florio’s analogy was not answered by any scientific “facts”, as is pretended to be behind evolution belief, but only offensive ridicule. Folks, evolutionary THEORY has been around for 150 years and is still a THEORY that keeps changing (c.f. neo-Darwinism- real science is immutable and does not “evolve” over time) because it cannot be proved, scientifically, to a be a natural law. Would you nuts please finally drop archaic notions like evolution please?

This is bullshit. To assume that the world came together by accident is silly. Things were set in motion. Certain circumstances led to certain outcomes. To believe that its either one “being” or accident it simply foolish. For thos that believe in God: If the world is too complicated to be created by circumstance and must have been created by God, who has created this incredibly complicated figure? For, he/she could not have just been there. That is completely contraty to your entire theory.
Tim Tebow will fail triumphantly in the NFL.

Context. Context. Context. The whole point of the prayer scripture in Matthew is that Jesus was using the uber-religious group at the time (the Phairisees) To make a point and exposing them for what they were – hypocrites. They would pray out loud on street corners to attract attention to themselves, not to honor God. It was this type of sermon that got Jesus into trouble and ultimately killed (at the plees of those same religious leaders).
Now, can a Christian pray out loud or use the word “blessing” in public without being a hypocrite? I would think so.
Is Tebow a hypocrite? I have no idea.
But it seems to me that Florio has a problem with his outward Christianity, not any hypocricy. Not surprising. Christianity has become a large target in this post-modern world (even amongst Christians, it seems).

Florio has every right to relay his impressions of Tim Tebow as relates to anything he says or does. He’s a football player. Florio makes a living analyzing football players (I know, go figure?). He’s judging him. That’s what he does. If Tebow belonged to some political or social group that might reflect on who he is as a football player, as a locker room guy or a leader, that would also be fair game. Reggie White’s religious beliefs obviously didn’t interfere with his play, Florio has a different take on Tebow. That’s his right. His opinion.

Hey DNich, you dbag. Evolution is the theory lacking proof or credibility?! As opposed to you retards that believe in some imaginary beast in the sky, that ‘his’ son was born to a ‘virgin’ mother, people walked on water, rose from the dead, and died for ‘your’ sins, etc. Time for a credibility check dumbass.

My life experiences have taught me that those who talk the most about their religious qualifications need to be listened to the least.
Sorta works the same way as people telling you how classy they are.
Great post, Florio. Tebow, how about you shut up about your religion and just play some football, huh? I’ll tell Billy Graham not to give me his opinion on the Tampa 2.

I am still astonished by the negative comments directed at Tebow for his belief in God. He is not in your face or asking for money. Camera’s are stuck in his face all the time and he has a joy about life because of his relationship with God. And to say he is doing it to improve his chances in the NFL – proposterous. As a freshman in college he was very open about his deeply religious belief…so are we saying he was already preparing for the day 4 years into the future that people would be questioning his abilities as an NFL QB so he needed to change the subject?? I have never seen him look into a camera and accuse or tell what others should do, which leads me to believe that it is more about being jealous of what he has and what you don’t.
And Florio – better read up on Christianity and the bible. One of the greatest themes of the bible is witnessing and evangilism in Jesus’s name. As a Christian we are suppose to tell people about the good news at every opportunity. Matthew 6:5-8 refers to those who don’t really care about God. Talking about your belief in God is what Christians do – like it or not.

Matthew 6 tells us not to put on a spiritual show. It doesn’t tell us to judge if someone else is putting on a spiritual show. That’s a judgement only God can make. So, instead of pretending to be God and judging the heart and motives of Tim Tebow, maybe you should write about football since, you know, that’s what we’re here for.

I love seeing people that take religion too seriously get all fired up and quote scripture to justify their actions.
I’m not going to look them up because I don’t care to but there are also verses in the bible that state if someone doesn’t share your belief in god you must kill them. another that says you must kill the entire town they live in. also if you marry a girl that is not a virgin the marriage isn’t valid and you must kill the girl. I could go on and on about horrible things the bible requires people to do.
Quoting the bible as an exact example of how you have to act is one of the dumbest things someone can do. Use your religion to be a guide for you to live a good life and be a good person, stop trying to shove it in everyone else’s face and don’t quote the bible.

Someone mentioned Reggie White, and I think his experience is notable for demonstrating a key point…
If you are a good enough athlete, most people will forgive you anything and tolerate opinions that they disagree with. I didn’t care at all that Reggie was constantly mentioning God, he was sacking Phil Simms back into the stone age.
Now, when Shawn Bradley talked about his relationship with the Lord, I rolled my eyes and told him to go eat a bag of snickers minis and life some freakin’ weights.
Again, Tebow probably knows this is the most exposure he’s going to get – while I think he will have a place in the NFL as a role player, he is not going to be BMOC anymore. So, he’s using his time in the limelight to do something he feels is important.
And since I feel its genuine, and not prideful conduct, I am not sure why the strong feelings.
Wizard gets it wrong again – if someone said Tebow was getting attention BECAUSE of his race or religion specifically, then they’d be on the hot seat (if their job was to analyze the game for ESPN). The poster he was responding to seems to be arguing the basic Favre-like over-exposure of Tebow.
Of course, Tebow – like McNabb – gets exposed for much simpler reasons…a willing interviewee, well spoken and thoughtful, nice good looking kid who has never been in trouble.
It’s that simple.

For those too dense to get it, Florio used that particular scripture because he sees people of Tebow’s ilk as the same as those people being spoken of in the verse.
As people who claim to read and know the bible should understand, it is not whether there is an exact analogy, but a meaningful analogy.

@DNich so you’re refuting the theory of evolution on the basis that it is too complex to be adequately described as a comment on a pro football blog? Read The Origin of Species or at least skip to Chapter VI where many of your concerns are addressed. Climbing Mt. Improbable is also a good read and a much better analogy than the one Florio made.

Nowhere did Mr. Tebow state that he was a better person simply because he was Christian and nowhere did he state that he God made him the to be the best quarterback ever. Does Tebow pray whenever he is on camera? Of course not. Do you see Tebow bringing cameras to his church? No.
Ultimately, your argument, is a classic straw man illustration, creating the argument you wish to refute. It is my belief, that what you, and those who agree with you, dislike about Tebow is his anti-politically correct nature. He believes in God and he does not hide from it – yet, in the end, there is nothing wrong with that. It may not be PC, but in this so-called progressive and anti-moral world, it is the right thing to do.
In regards to Tebow’s interview about Gator-football, what did you expect him to state? That Gator-football players are idiots and do not understand football? Of course not. It is not uncommon for players to tout the programs they came from or defend them, and their coaches, from criticism – yet, you seem to have taken it to the next level, simply because Tebow made the statement.
Here is a bible verse you may enjoy: Mathew 7:5 “first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

Florio,
I won’t argue the merits of your statements about Tebow.
I will say this though, I have to admire the fact that you took a stand on this knowing the backlash you would face as a result. It takes a guy with balls to have written this.

BennyBoy,
I am really confused by your statement that “it takes a guy with balls to have written this.” Did you actually see the interview about which the article was written? Essentially you have concluded that it takes a guy with balls to make stuff up about a person when the interview is being rebroadcast repeatedly and anyone who actually cares will eventually see that it was a lie. So, I guess you could be right that it really takes balls to lie like that???

All i can say is Amen. I am so sick of these athletes that constantly thank god for their “incredible skills”.
Tebow, while a great college QB, has throwing mechanics that MacGyver couldnt fix.
But what is worse is his constant use of God as his LIFE. Last time I checked God loves everyone.
What did it though was his Super Bowl commercial. His use of God just seems to scripted.
Bottom line is he maybe needs to shut up, go to his room, drop to his knees and ask God to help him be more humble and to fix that throwing motion.

Hey szaggy, I am a angry. I’m angry that I have to deal with adults who believe in something so stoooopid. I will be happy when the whole world treats religious people as the second class rejects that you are. Religion is a mental defect. You are too weak to accept the truth.

Florio,
I understand how you can be annoyed by Tebow’s faith in Christ. I also appreciate your comments on creation, however I think its very harsh to criticize as being a Hypocrite, when he hasn’t done anything to prove that he is. I would understand such criticism if he was in some type of scandal, from what i can tell is that he backs up what he believes in going on missions…etc.
Criticize his throwing motion or his crying after the SEC championship all you but before you go throwing verbal stones remove the plank from your eye.
Otherwise I really enjoy your work and like listening to you on the mac attack on wfnz charlotte.

I just read a comment that said this will no boost his draft stock and I agree 100% and I dont see how you can not agree to Florio.
You said it you self that Tebows strong beliefs and preaching will make teams shy away from him because he can be a dividing force in the locker room. People that agree with him will be on his side and people who dont will be on the other side. Also you said veterans and coaches will not want to here some kid preaching to him in the locker room.
So unless you dont believe a word you said before you cant say hes doing this to get a better spot in the draft

@Abe Froeman
I just looked it up for you, and this is what showed up:
“Or, as the case may be, on the black strips under his eyes. (mock)
I was going to leave it all alone until Tebow broke out the word blessing multiple times during a short interview on NFL Network, including a response to his critics that sounded like a machine gun that fires not bullets but “blessings.”
(mock)
We get it, Tim. You’re blessed. More so than the rest of us. If we get to Heaven, we can watch you play quarterback against the All-Hell defense.” (mock)
Tebow had no malicious intent in what he said, and then your boy Florio mocked him. Oh and I never compared the two, but I did show you a live example how Christ’s followers will always be put down no matter what they say or do. Its appalling to me how a person can say the word “blessing” a few times, and all of a sudden have an article about how much of a hypocrite he is. He never said he was MORE blessed than anyone, and saying that your blessed is NOT AGAINST Gods will.
im done with this conversation Abe, you and forlio can argue whatever you want to argue. God bless you though brother. Ill be praying for you.

Benny Boy –
Florio took very little risk in attacking Christianity by way of Tim Tebow. Christians are a minority in America and there are always plenty of posters who are glad to anonymously attack any public sign of faith. Those who chimed in with a defense of Tebow and his right (and scriptural responsibility) to publicly proclaim his beliefs also added to the tally. Florio knew that this would create hundreds of hits and thereby produce plenty of mammon for him and NBC. This was no act of bravery on his part, but more a shrewd act to generate hits to this blog. Bigotry made bucks.

Was Paul likewise guilty of being too forward with his faith?
See, I don’t see Tebow praying constantly in public or proclaiming all his tithing or anything of the sort. I see a man who wants to give God glory as best he can.
Perhaps he will wind up showing some ugliness below the surface. Seems a lot of people fighting for God have had to hide some serious sin and selfishness below the surface.
I don’t see how a pastor does things differently? He too tries to give glory to God for the things God blesses Him with. It’s pretty awesome that a man is trying to suggest it’s not himself being special, but God who allowed him to succeed. It sounds like, though Tebow has a huge passion to play in the NFL, he’s willing to admit he’s imperfect (thus the throwing motion change… which to me the willingness to admit he needs change IS humility), and may indeed not succeed. He sounds pretty real about things compared to most athletes.
Compared to all the “quietly religious” politicians who turn out to be taking bribes and cheating on their wives, good for Tim Tebow that, at least at this moment, he can live a life that inspires others to recognize it IS possible to live pure and clean and do good things without going down the ugly road of selfishness.
Indeed, it sounds like you are the one judging a man, and he’s just trying to do his best.
If something good happens, God has given you that gift. Indeed, in many things, like football, it’s not to suggest you are somehow more holy or favored more than your opponent. Many evil people get great things in this life. But when good things happen, since we are created, we owe great thanks to God for letting them happen.
I don’t see him as filled with expectations that all the good things will happen to him. He enjoys when they come his way. He made a “promise” last year, and it came true. He made a similar promise this year, and it didn’t. Perhaps he’s a little too empassioned to win. But I don’t see him blaming God when he loses or suggesting he needs to become a better person to earn better things.
God loves everyone indeed, but God doesn’t enjoy when people do evil things.
When something amazing has been given to you, when someone changes your life, and especially you have the power to help others find it, you proclaim it constantly.
See, ironically enough, I think of a verse just down the line from yours…
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:14-15

Best Florio post ever!
And it’s interesting to read the subsequent debate between the Evangelicals and the real, true Christians on here. The attitude of the Evangelicals on here really backs up what Mike is saying about their false sense of superiority.

Wow, has Tim ever once said he was better than anyone else? Has he ever said he’ll be the next Montana? Has he ever said 1 negative thing about another player, team or coach? I cannot wrap my head around the reasoning why people want to see this kid fail! We should be hoping that he does well so kids have someone to look up to who did things the right way.
Why do we love to build someone up and then hope that we fail. It seems the further we get away from God the worst things are getting but we refuse to see it.

To begin with, your “I’m a Christian so I that gives me license to say something ridiculous” is strikingly familiar to racists who begin by saying “I’m not racist, I have black friends,” and then proceed to say something racist.
Then, I noticed the following portion of your article:
“I wonder whether his purpose isn’t to spread the Good News but to cultivate and maintain an image that will serve separate interests.”
And what might those interests be, Florio?
In a theocratic society like Israel, the Pharisees greatly benefited by appearing super religious. In an increasingly secular society as ours, being as radically different as Tebow isn’t quite as beneficial. Unless you can give us an idea as to what Tebow’s motives might be, it seems a bit ridiculous to suggest hypocrisy.
There’s also the issue of the Pharisees being hateful, bitter, prideful liars. If Tebow actually practices what he preaches, a feature sorely lacking in so many American Christians, I hardly think it’s a fair comparison. Perhaps you’re feeling a bit convicted, Mr. Florio?

Florio’s wedding cake analogy is so full of fail, no wonder he doesn’t get it.
Here I got a quote for you.
“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
While some part of me really does not believe in the existence of god regardless of me wanting there to be one, just so I can feel comfortable in those last moments, I realize in the vast span of time and the unknown almost anything is possible. That’s why I don’t go out of my way to claim truth I know not of. I also don’t take sides but do my best to just accept what is.
Obviously the cake analogy leaves out so many ingredients and variables to where from a simple read its unbelievable. Unfortunately for lil Florio nothing is that simple. Evolution is based on the slow and gradual buildup of life from simple to complex. If florio realized if you took all the ingredients needed to make a single spec of cake and layed them in a changing world and atmosphere over hundreds of millions of years its quite probable cake in some form would develop. Obviously cake is not a lifeform (yeast, yes)where it can stay alive and reproduce and essentially mutate overtime(evolve) which is another failure of the cake and junkyard analogy.

Just so we are clear, evolution is a fact. Humans evolved from ape-like creatures millions of years ago. Scientists have known this for a long time. The earth wasn’t created in 6 days, because that is stupid and doesn’t make any sense.

Florio, why the parting shot at Kurt Warner. I don’t see what one of the best QB’s in recent memory and a yet-undrafted college-star-with-questionable-fundamental-skills QB are comparable. There is a fundamental difference between being a Christian athlete who is comfortable with expressing his religious beliefs and being someone who tries to overpower others with his beliefs and is constantly proselytising. Kurt Warner is, and has always been, a class act, giving signatures to fans, even after losses and in opposing stadiums. Other than honestly stating the role God plays in his decisions, Warner has not invited the degree of scrutiny Tebow has, deciding to appear in a pro-life Superbowl ad despite not having proven anything at a professional level. What matters is what athletes prove on the field of play, not in what and how they worship.

Floriom
This is one of the most anti christian articles I have seen in a while. If you want to quote scripture, how about in Romans when it says who are you to judge another man’s(Jesus) servant for before Him doth he stand or fall. Or how about twelve years of catholic school that taught you to pray to Mary and Paul when the Bible says to have no other God before Him, or Jesus who said in order to pray, you must come by Him. But if you read you Bible for any other purpose than to tear someone else down you would realize that you are the hypocrites that those passages you used are talking about. Thou fool have thou not known, have thou not heard that the heart of the wicked is despised of God? Before you try your hand at the Word of God again, get it right first, you have no right to touch the Word as concerning judgement, you are even a priest, they were the only ones that are allowed to do so, so you have broken your own self piety, however I am a preacher so leave the preaching up to me and those that you chosen to such a life, and you stick to your bad opinions of football, dont cross that line. And for those of you that agreeed with Him Jesus saves, go to church once in a while and get of your high horse before you meet God in sin, then you will know who is on Hell’s team, YOU!

@BBeer
No, I think we all want to see that All-Hell roster, and maybe an All-Heaven roster to compare it too.
Also just pitching this in there, it seems to me like the theory of evolution is far more feasible than some big deity basically farting out the universe 6000 years ago because he was bored. Don’t get me wrong religion is great… for oppressing the weak minded and creating a determined and loyal workforce but I, like Ayn Rand, believe it to be mostly a fraudulent practice used by false mystics to fatten their pockets and gain unearned prestige and power.

I love watching Christians fight. It reminds me why I left the church when I was old enough to think. What were you thinking Florio. Criticizing a christian and raising evolution. Are you after a record number of postings or something. For all the people comlaining that this doen’t belong here your postings have guaranteed more to come. People get so worked up about something that doesn’t exist (God) but don’t seem to care about the CBA and the season that wont exist.

Skin_Flute:
Hey szaggy, I am a angry. I’m angry that I have to deal with adults who believe in something so stoooopid. I will be happy when the whole world treats religious people as the second class rejects that you are. Religion is a mental defect. You are too weak to accept the truth.
————————————————-
Gosh I feel smarter for just having met you. You have solved 1000’s of years of debate in one “intellectual” paragraph.

BennyBoy says:
February 28, 2010 9:54 PM
Florio,
I won’t argue the merits of your statements about Tebow.
I will say this though, I have to admire the fact that you took a stand on this knowing the backlash you would face as a result. It takes a guy with balls to have written this.
_________
Wrong. Florio knows he’s guaranteed over 150+ comments everytime he bashes someone for their religious beliefs, which means more money in Florio’s pockets. You see the funny thing about his article is that Florio is for using religion as a means to line his pockets and cover up his lack of writing skills. Sounds like a hypocrite to me.

Leviticus 20:13 (New International Version)
13 ” ‘If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
Keep worshipping your homocidal psychopathic homophobic pretend “god”, and his invisible angels with wings…lmfao

“You said it you self that Tebows strong beliefs and preaching will make teams shy away from him because he can be a dividing force in the locker room. People that agree with him will be on his side and people who dont will be on the other side.”
It’s a wonder that Rev. Reggie White or Kurt Warner ever made it in the NFL, eh 0-3gle fan?

This is exactly my point. Why must you feel that you have to say all of that about how you believe in God and go to church every Sunday, and how you have 12 years of Catholic education before saying something bad about Tim Tebow? He seems to have better protection from the analysts (I’m including you in here, too, Florio) than any other player in any NFL draft since I began watching it in 1992. Back then I was enthralled with Chris Berman’s “Rumblin’, Fumblin’, Stumblin'”, and wouldn’t recognize then that Mel Kiper Jr.’s hair would never change. Why must a person feel that they must profess their belief in God and as a good Christian before they say a bad word about Tebow’s game? Even Randy Cross felt he had to say something of the like this morning as I listened to the opening drive. It is unnecessary.
I’m rooting for the guy. I am. But saying I don’t think Tim Tebow is going to be a great NFL player is no disrespect to the player’s faith or yours. Yes, he performed well in the Underwear Olympics. Yes, he will probably do well in his pro day as well. But analysts seem to watch him through rose colored glasses that mask the fact that a great college player does not an NFL Pro-Bowler make. Furthermore, I am hoping as many a football fan across the nation and the world. Those of us who can actually see that Tebow is an average NFL quarterback at best are all hoping, praying that our teams, in my case the Cleveland Browns, do not waste a pick on him. Jacksonville Jaguars fan remember the mistake of Matt Jones, (Who? Matt Jones), and don’t want to repeat it, this time with a guy trying to play quarterback. If the fans of this team remember Byron Leftwich’s wind-up, Tim Tebow’s delivery looks as slow as Charles Barkley’s golf swing.
Analysts need to realize they don’t have to kiss up to a player. They have to do their job and call it like it is. If Tebow is drafted, and he probably will be, then he will have to work for everything that he gets. Don’t give him anything. Hopefully, NFL teams are seeing it for what it is and he will be the 3rd – 5th round pick that his talent says he should be. Please don’t let him get drafted by the Cleveland Browns.

“Just so we are clear, evolution is a fact. Humans evolved from ape-like creatures millions of years ago. Scientists have known this for a long time.”
Great. Now ask scientists about global warming.
“The earth wasn’t created in 6 days, because that is stupid and doesn’t make any sense.”
It it any more stupid and does it make any less sense to believe that humans that are capable of putting men on the moon evolved from apes in just a few hundred thousand years? The science behind human evolution from primates is as shaky as the science behind the “gay gene”. No verifiable link exists but people act like there is one anyway for lack of a better scientific explanation. I’m not advocating either evolution or intelligent design but evolutionists call it the “missing link” for a very good reason.

I agree with the comments from rmns828 says:
February 28, 2010 4:07 PM
You’re completely taking the verses out of context. But, you of course would have no idea of that because you don’t know the Bible, no matter how many years of education you had. But, my question for you is, besides the 12 years of “Catholic Education,” how have you lived your life? Do you follow Jesus Christ and have you displayed that following in your daily walk of life?
Tebow doesn’t follow a “religion.” Jesus never said “FOLLOW RELIGION.” Jesus never said to follow any man – such as religion. Jesus specifically said to FOLLOW HIM and no other belief system.
Look at Mark 8:34:
34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Same with Luke 9:23:
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Jesus is different because He actually came to DIVIDE people between those who want to follow God and those who don’t. He is THE dividing line!
Look what He said in Matthew 10: 34-39
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Florio, all you did here was put people who hate Tebow and hate all the extra coverage he gets – and people WHO either think they don’t believe in God – to answer about “religion.” Religion is crap – your religion, especially, Florio… People like YOU know what you learn in “Catholic School” for 12 years – but you don’t LIVE according to the Word of God and you don’t follow after Jesus! All you do is make fun of people who really do follow the LORD. You hate Tim Tebow and you actually lead a sad life… I can tell and I feel sorry for people like you.
Oh, and the all-Hell team you talk about… I’m sure you can get their autograph some day!

Good post Mike.
Reading the comments is as interesting, if not more so, than your original post. Good insight into the viewer base you have.
Now could you do one of a political nature, you know some Obama and Republican references and see if the hit count is higher than this one on religion?

Dinosaurs…errr
Ever notice how the continents line up nicely, and you can calculate how far they have moved, giving you an idea of why different animals evolve differently.
Ex. Monkeys in the New World ie South America can use their tails to hold onto branches, African monkeys cannot.
How about Australia?
After Noah’s Ark how did the Koalas swim back to Australia?
The bible is a bunch of myths as made up as Santa Claus.
Your religion is fake.

yawn.
i hate religion, so i’ll come out and say something edgy. that said, i won’t attack tebow for his faith. the dude isn’t a hypocrite, or selling a personality when he’s really some secret deviant. the dude is just misguided about religion because of his over-zealous family & parents.
i just don’t understand why the kid gets attacked for having such a strong faith. would you rather he be at strip clubs, beating girlfriends, missing child support payments, or getting manslaughter DUI’s for hitting pedestrians?
move on from tebow, florio.

@Vox
Don’t be afraid of science. It’s not out to hurt you, it’s just a study of what’s happening in our universe. Just because scientists sometimes come to conclusions that don’t mesh with your world view doesn’t make them wrong.

patpatriotagain says:
March 1, 2010 12:44 AM
going to church doesn’t make you a christian anymore than going to the combine makes you a probowler.
___________________________________
True…and talking non-stop about your Christian religion doesn’t make you any more religious than going to church every Sunday…
I get Florio’s point (even though he decided to use a biblical quotation that’s usually reserved for Ash Wednesday to illustrate the point of not letting everyone know that you are fasting and praying, etc.). You get suspicious of people who talk non-stop, usually in an inappropriate venue about their religion–it’s sort of like people who have to tell you constantly how fantastic a person they are….if they have to say it all the time, maybe they aren’t. I don’t think Florio was being anti-Christian at all–he’s just articulating something that evidently is a touchy subject, given all the comments. I also think a press conference is the wrong venue to talk about your religious beliefs ad nauseum…it’s sort of like getting up in church and talking about how much you like football….wrong venue.
The saying I like best is “actions speak louder than words..” It’s not about what you say, it’s about what you do and hopefully Tebow’s actions live up to all his words.

One of the more entertaining aspects of the contemporary mind is its proclivity to trip all over itself disclaiming views, half-baked as they may be and frequently are, that may rankle other contemporary minds. A number of examples appear in this thread, not least of which that science is science and religion is religion and by invoking them in purely those limited, contemporary, postmodern contexts, we can leave them nicely sorted and pigeonholed there.
Surely science, therefore, masters faith. Surely faith is antiquated. This must be obvious.
In other words, the resume of science is unimpeachable. Religion is debunked superstition. Entering the debate requires those disclaimers, lest we not be allowed to enter the debate.
Which leaves insight, wonder, awe, inquiry, and even open-mindedness, et al, on the sidelines. And surely too love, beauty, principle, justice, and hundreds of other quite real phenomenon, not a one of which is scientifically provable. Philosophically yes; scientifically, no.
So flip this topic over on its other side: In our enlightened, scientific, objectified frame of modern reference, with all its debunking performed and all the quaint old notions it’s banished, how is it that the spiritual quality of man, as often as not codified and given form in his finest religious enlightenment, has an entire dimension of experience completely outside of the Darwinian standard of our contemporary, scientific day?
In other words, from where comes secular, postmodern, declared, presumed science, painted up as objective, irrefutable objectivity while it’s actually faith-bound and highly idealistic, or it’s various soon-to-be-fact pursuits of hopeful knowledge, they possessing all the properties of faith?

CaGatorFan says:
…Religion is crap – your religion, especially, Florio… People like YOU know what you learn in “Catholic School” for 12 years – but you don’t LIVE according to the Word of God and you don’t follow after Jesus! All you do is make fun of people who really do follow the LORD. You hate Tim Tebow and you actually lead a sad life… I can tell and I feel sorry for people like you.
__________________________________
Ah…here comes the anit-Catholic rhetoric from all those self-proclaimed “Christians”. I was wondering how long it would take….

I truly did not want to get into this “battle royale”, but the mere stupidity of Halas’ Heroes post forced me too…
The use of large words did not entirely veil your utterly ridiculous comment. The fact you want everyone to know, in plain english, is “Science is Truth, and Religion is a pitiful security blanket for the weak”.
The entire thesis you craft thereafter is dependent on that idea that Science trumps all.
So the question needs to be asked:
What is really Truth?
If you argue that science is in fact truth, which I believe you are, would truth not be ever changing? In fact, Truth would be relative to what any person sees, feels or hears. It would remain relative until all the answers of the universe are unveiled, and truth can be shown in all its form, with no one able to deny it. For example, before Columbus it was true that the world was flat, yet to say that now would be false.
Science is in fact the practice of trying to unveil truth, yet I would go so far to argue that it more relates to Platos Allegory of the Cave.
I would argue then, that to really understand what Truth is, we need some sort of objective to hold it up to, otherwise, like I noted earlier, truth is relative.
I would then argue that without a constant figure it is impossible to even understand the word truth, thus making it is necessary for God to be that constant, the objective of truth.
All things on earth and in heaven are created by Him and through Him, and one day, all knees will bow, all tongues confess, that there is only one absolute truth, and His name is YHWH.

@BuffaloBounce
You obviously misunderstood my post, and, in effect, restated my point. Science, by the very nature of man, is based on faith. Humans absolutely violate the survival of the fittest rule‚ we function in the realm of ideas and conscious thought, the physical, scientific universe having somehow developed these decidedly unscientific qualities for reasons only it knows. Plus, humans have an experiential quality that contains an entire universe of abstracts utterly useless to the scientific, Darwinian trajectory atheists place so much faith in.
Yet, there they are. And they penetrate, well ahead of science, down into the soup of the building blocks of the universe itself. The entire nature of the physical universe, even apart from the great, eternal, problem of its own genesis‚ one that tears to shreds the false scientific constructs of natural versus supernatural, is based on the faith that things just are as they are and do as they do.

@BuffaloBounce: The use of large words did not entirely veil your utterly ridiculous comment. The fact you want everyone to know, in plain english(sic), is “Science is Truth, and Religion is a pitiful security blanket for the weak”.

Evidently, my language use did cause you to misunderstand, as my comment first describes the secular stance regarding science and religion, followed by statements revealing the voluminous expanse of reality science cannot begin to explain, culminating in a rhetorical question illuminating the reality that “science” is faith-based.
Sorry for the confusion.

Why is that a problem? I am glad to get a football player who doesn’t use “know what I mean?”, or “ya know?”, 10 zillion times. I need the closed caption turned on to understand 75% of these players, and the ones that do talk usually – the majority of the time – talk about how great THEY are, or how “disrespected” they are because the team didn’t give them a 5 million dollar raise, and they have to “survive” making only 15 million a year…, etc and so forth. I’ll take a guy saying “blessing” over and over any day of the year. If you’re going to bash anyone, bash the thugs, not Tebow.

I agree with you, Florio.
If I want to hear about God and express religious views and beliefs, I go to church. And I keep them to myself, unless asked.
I want to hear Te-blow say how he can be an asset to a football team without one utterance of God and being blessed.

“Don’t be afraid of science. It’s not out to hurt you, it’s just a study of what’s happening in our universe. Just because scientists sometimes come to conclusions that don’t mesh with your world view doesn’t make them wrong.”
Well it sure as hell doesn’t make them RIGHT, does it? I’m not afraid of science. Hell it was my best subject in school because I loved it. However I do not like the current scientific climate, where powers that be have a preconceived conclusion and will only fund research that ultimately results in that end. There’s too much incentive to “cook the books”. Don’t be afraid to NOT believe everything you’re told, particularly when it comes to things like man-made global warming, where there’s a lot of money at stake on both sides.

“i just don’t understand why the kid gets attacked for having such a strong faith. would you rather he be at strip clubs, beating girlfriends, missing child support payments, or getting manslaughter DUI’s for hitting pedestrians?”
I think a lot of people take it personally. The people that criticize him for his faith likely aren’t comfortable with the way that they’ve lived their lives. It’s not religion that makes people feel guilty, it’s the bad things that they’ve done that conflict with religious faith.

@BuffaloBounce
Please read my post again. I begin it with the popular definitions of science and religion, describe the voluminous instances in life scientific methods fails to deliver, and culminate with a rhetorical question highlighting the reality that science is just as faith-based as religion.

VoxVeritas says:
March 1, 2010 7:12 PM
“Well it sure as hell doesn’t make them RIGHT, does it? I’m not afraid of science. Hell it was my best subject in school because I loved it. However I do not like the current scientific climate, where powers that be have a preconceived conclusion and will only fund research that ultimately results in that end. There’s too much incentive to “cook the books”. Don’t be afraid to NOT believe everything you’re told, particularly when it comes to things like man-made global warming, where there’s a lot of money at stake on both sides.”
Don’t confuse the inexact new science of climate modelling with the established science of evolution. Evolution is established and confirmed and any argumets are about minor details. Evolution is no threat to faith because it only explains the physical world. Christians who rely on creationism as a scientific idea and attack evolution are lacking in faith. Most of this is because pig headed christian leaders mislead their congregations into thinking there has to be a battle between good (god) and evil (evolution) that doesn’t exist. The world is not so balck and white, a deep understanding of evolution would be confronting but liberating for the average christian

@Vox
“I think a lot of people take it personally. The people that criticize him for his faith likely aren’t comfortable with the way that they’ve lived their lives. It’s not religion that makes people feel guilty, it’s the bad things that they’ve done that conflict with religious faith.”
Not so much. It’s more like people see him as boasting about how great his relationship with God is. And that they do see his perpetual espousing of beliefs as an unwanted attempt of him trying to proselytize to them.
Essentially they see Tebow’s incessant religious referencing as an exercise of vanity.

“And I personally believe that the likelihood that this planet of ours was created and populated with plants and animals by accident is even slimmer than the chances of dropping a bowl full of eggs, flour, and sugar and having it land as a five-tiered wedding cake.”
Nice work, genius. Apparently you’ve never heard of evolution, which is neither an “accident” nor god. Also, babies don’t come from storks, the world is more than 6,000 years old, and the earth goes around the sun, not vice versa. Now that you’re caught up to fifth grade science, I hope you at least have the sense to spare your own children from the pathetic, catholic “education” your parents forced on you.

“But I’m naturally skeptical, by virtue of 12 years of Catholic education and many more of regular church attendance, of anyone who wears these beliefs on his or her sleeve.”
I know I’m late & this may have been addressed, but that is exactly what Jesus did. He wore His relationship with His father (God) on His sleeve. Then, there were those self-righteous Pharisees & Saducees who thought that they had all the answers & judged Jesus for being outspoken about His knowledge of God. I know that Tebow is not Jesus, but that is where his faith lies. His faith doesn’t lie in some random Christian, in me, or in you Florio. That is why it is real.
As far as “blessing” goes, Tebow acknowledges that he gets his talent from the Lord. Every talent that you, me, or sports figure has comes from the Lord. Tebow is not putting down others by talking about being blessed, he is thanking the One who gave him the blessing.
(Matthew 6:5-8) Surely you aren’t suggesting that no one pray in public? Public, chanted prayer is a tradition of the Catholic chruch. Poeple pray before meals, in every church & so on. The point that Jesus always spoke of was the condition of your heart & why you do the things you do. The point of that scripture is what the motive of your heart is. If it’s to be seen then in public, then that is wrong. It’s not the action that matters. Maybe you’re right & Tebow’s motive is to be seen & create an image, and maybe global warming is real. To bring it closer to home, maybe Ben Rothlisberger did rape that girl. Until real evidence to the contrary is shown, & not just some man’s vendetta, I’ll choose to believe that his faith is real & he’s simply living it out as Jesus tells us to.

“Not so much. It’s more like people see him as boasting about how great his relationship with God is.”
Saying that he’s blessed a bunch of times does not qualify. you can’t be preached to by anyone that you choose to not listen to. There’s a really simple solution to all of this. Don’t listen. Everybody in the world knows that he’s going to praise God every time somebody sticks a microphone in his face.

@Vox
It’s the overall perception of Tebow that qualifies him for such an observation. And changing the channel does nothing to change the opinion of his behavior.
The opinion/perception, that is, that Tebow’s excessive and boastful talk of his relationship with God is indicative of nothing other than vanity and hubris.

I feel that Florio’s use of Matt 6:5-8 is somewhat relevant in describing St Timothy of Gainesville’s attitude/demeanor.
Though, its spot on when players get together after a game to pray. However, that is another topic and discussion all together.
What really got me is unlike every other athlete @ the combine is Timmy would always check with the officials after doing a drill. Sadly, the media would eat it up. Was it passion, fear that he finally wasn’t heads and shoulders above the rest or just micromanaging?
If I understand Abe Froeman right. Timmy is all about vanity. Regardless of my comprehension, just count the number of times T-bo uses I or me in the infamous speech after the loss to Ole Miss in ’08.
Unlike PRamis123, There are only 2 players that I don’t want my favorite team (Dolphins obviously) to draft. Dez Bryant & Tebow. It’d be worse than ’07 when I had accepted but did not like the fact they would draft Brady Quinn and they did not only to draft Ted Ginn. I was less than thrilled.
The phins QB situation is set and while they phins could use a TE… There are better players out there than Tebow for that. Dray from Stanford for one.
It would not bother me if Tebow got selected by Baltimore. Where @ some point, he tried to rally/motivate the troops like we have seen him do. The difference here would be Ray Lewis would slap the taste off Timmy’s lips.

Now we all thought Tiger Woods was that golden boy who was perfect, a decade later look what we have.
Tebow vehemently confesses his love for God every chance he gets, now we know no one is perfect but, i wonder what the media will do to Tebow if one day he slips ups.
If i were Tebow I would def follow Matthew: 6:5-8 verse. Because the minute he makes an epic mistake its gonna be far worse than the abuse Tiger Woods took. And remember nobody is perfect, Tebow you’re going to have millions and you wont have Meyer there to protect you and help you make real world decisions at your every beckoning.

Doesn’t this site really just come down to “My idea/belief/team/favorite player is better than yours?” Really? Damn near every topic ends up with a comment thread that supports this assumtion. “I’m a christian and I think this kid is fake, so I’m better than him” “You believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster? You moron! I’m better than you!” “You have a liberal viewpoint? How dare you denounce Christianty (de-facto) and my right to ram it down everyone’s throat like a male porno star!” Blah Blah, good job getting hits Florio, at least you’re good at what you do, drumming up anger from people with too much time on their hands.

Now we all thought Tiger Woods was that golden boy who was perfect, a decade later look what we have.
Tebow vehemently confesses his love for God every chance he gets, now we know no one is perfect but, i wonder what the media will do to Tebow if one day he slips ups.
If i were Tebow I would def follow Matthew: 6:5-8 verse. Because the minute he makes an epic mistake its gonna be far worse than the abuse Tiger Woods took. And remember nobody is perfect, Tebow you’re going to have millions and you wont have Meyer there to protect you and help you make real world decisions at your every beckoning.

Hey Florio…I believe Mike Mayock on the NFL Network just simultaneously acknowledged that he reads pft and ripped you all in one sentence. At around the 40-42 minute mark in the NFL Combine Coverage for Tuesday, 3/2, he talks about people on the internet counting how many times Tebow said “blessing” and that ripping Tebow for it was wrong. Its right after Mayock tells Eisen that he’s sick of talking about Tebow and Favre and that the media is saturated with them.

That was a solid post, Florio. I was beginning to think you were becoming another sensationalized sports personality. Besides, us Catholics know that Baptist swine will rot in hell for his undue pride.
whammy!

12yrs of Catholic School??? Figures. Mary & Mohammed are like peas & carrots. Fake.
The reference to Matthew 6:5-8 is regarding the “insincere” prayer, i.e., I pray that I can pay the mortgage with this crappy blog…
Tim Tebow is not preachy… he’s humble in his beliefs and that is his faith.
Luke 11:33, No man, when hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

florio, glad to see you have such a love for God’s holy Word. However, the verse you quoted warns us against being outwardly religious for personal gain. It does not forbid us from being outwardly religious for God’s glory. Jesus never tells us not to talk about God in public…in fact Jesus’ ministry was to the public. So it seems your only issue with Tebow would be that you are suspicious of his intent – whether its for personal gain or really for God’s glory. But the intent of another man’s heart can only be known by God (Proverbs 21:2). Since you are not God, you cannot know the intentions of Tebow’s heart. Therefore i would caution you from judging another’s intent. But keep reading the Word brother, and may the wisdom of God fill you through faith in His blessed Son Jesus Christ!

“I personally believe that the likelihood that this planet of ours was created and populated with plants and animals by accident is even slimmer than the chances of dropping a bowl full of eggs, flour, and sugar and having it land as a five-tiered wedding cake.”
I strikes me that at the heart of that statement there must be a lack of understanding of two things: (1) how many planets there are in the universe, and (2) how life develops.
Regarding # 1: There are about 400 billion stars in our galaxy alone. If each of them have the same number of planets (on average) as our own sun, then that’s about 4 trillion planets in our own galaxy alone. Multiply that by an estimated 125 billion galaxies in the universe … that is an incomprehensibly large number a lot of planets.
Regarding # 2: Life doesn’t evolve “by accident”. On some small fraction of that ridiculously large number of planets above, primitive life occurred. It then was steered along by evolution, not by chance, to produce the complex life we have today.